Two And A Half Moons
Prologue Stonefoot stalked at the edge of the border, his luminous orange eyes wide and wary. He was the only cat patrolling the dark borders of SpiceClan during the night. Snow circled its way to the ground, burying everything it touched. The dead roots of tree stumps curved in and around his paws. The night was laced with poisonous anticipation as he wondered what would come to play; another Clan's night patrol, maybe, or some animal he couldn't fend off alone. The other Clans didn't bother much. He sat back; might as well take some time to relax as long as nothing was happening. He let his gaze wander from his position high on one of the many rocks in the territory. Cold snow made his blue-black fur a pale gray, piling silently on his back. Every now and then he would straighten and shake it off. He closed his eyes momentarily then snapped them open, not wanting to drift off in the snow. Twigs snapped somewhere in the distance. He waited. Again, the sound came, closer this time, making him uneasy. He thought he saw a dark shape coming out of the forest. Another Clan on a night patrol? He shivered, only partly because of the snow. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Warily, Stonefoot began to pad away, back to the placid camp. As he reached it, the silvery coating over the stones were eaten away by shadowy clouds. Story Chapter I "Race you!" Silverpaw, Clawpaw, Loudpaw, and Aspenpaw chased each other around the training grounds, batting at each others' ears and tails. Snowflake, Stonefoot, and Jumpheart stepped in to continue the training. "Come on, you guys," Snowflake insisted. She didn't look intimidating, with her waves of glossy white fur or her round, pale blue eyes, but when she was serious or stern, she could look like a completely different cat. "Okay," Silverpaw consented, giving up the chase to look up at her mentor. "What's first?" "We need to practice a lot of those battle moves," Jumpheart sighed. "It's important to know how to fight, especially when you go on the journey to the Moonfalls." The Moonfalls were sacred waterfalls not far from SpiceClan territory. If you stood on a rock and looked out at the barren landscape, you would see the misty outline of them. "Let's start training," Jumpheart told them. "Now since we have a very open territory, it's easy to see the other Clans, but it's also easy for the other Clans to see us. They can scent you before they see you, so it's important to disguise your scent or keep the wind blowing towards you -- don't look at me like that, Aspenpaw, your fur'll get ruffled by the battles you have anyway... Now let's work on some of the moves you can use..." "Can you come with me on night patrol?" Stonefoot asked, once they were out of earshot of Jumpheart and the apprentices. "Why?" Snowflake queried, looking politely enigmatic. "It's just something I wanted to look at. I saw something last night. It scared me," he admitted, eyes down. "What was it?" "It was..." Stonefoot struggled to describe the silhouette his eyes had strayed to. "I heard sounds. They were loud and scary and it was dark. I couldn't see anything, but something was there." "It doesn't sound so bad." Snowflake cocked her head. Inside her head, her mind was a kaleidoscope of thoughts; she wasn't sure if she wanted to go or stay. "I'll go," she said, her tongue betraying her before she could make up her mind. "Great, thanks!" Stonefoot looked immediately relieved, eyes shining. "Is it really that bad?" Snowflake's eyes narrowed. "I... I don't know. It's just if... if... if, well, if they do something to me, or you, I could, or you could... I mean, get help... because if they're bad...?" Stonefoot stammered. "Very informative," Snowflake rolled her eyes. "Go check your pelt for ticks; make yourself useful." "Like I have ticks? If anyone has ticks, it's you. Let's go help Jumpfoot instead," Stonefoot teased. He and Snowflake made deep footprints in the heavy, powdery snow as they trodded back to Jumpfoot. ~~ "Hurry up!" Stonefoot called back to the white cat, who seemed to be lagging far back. "Are you sure?" Snowflake asked, now filled with overwhelming dread. It seemed so much less scarier in the daytime! He reached the rock where he had been the night before, and slipped up. Snowflake followed. "It's scary up here at night," she whispered, settling down next to him. "And cold." They sat in silence together. "See that star up there? Over the waterfall?" Snowflake prompted. "Isn't it pretty?" Stonefoot agreed. "I think so. Is it that North Star?" Snowflake sighed. "Yeah; it's supposed to symbolize trust and good fortune." Stonefoot looked at her. "You believe in it?" Snowflake shrugged. "Karma rolls around. Some cats say that the North Star sends out mists to lead you to your destiny, or to save you from something terrible. They're these white clouds of nothing, but they can lead you to something big." "I still don't believe it." "Neither do I. A star can't send out the mists. But you never know. A lot of cats believe it." They scanned the territory. Chapter II Stonefoot heard something far off. It sounded like a moaning cry, and more twigs snapped. He thought he heard footsteps. He couldn't smell any cats, though, and when he turned around, nothing was there. Still, the sad sounds continued. Suddenly they were right next to him! His eyes widened as something appeared in front of him; something white and smoky, bobbing up and down in front of his eyes. Tentatively, he reached a paw out and it disappeared. He waited. The thing materialized at the bottom of the rock. He began to clamber down, followed by Snowflake. He jumped at it, but it faded away into the blackness. "Snowflake, are these the mists?" he whispered. "I think so," Snowflake murmered. "Look! There's one up ahead!" Stonefoot rushed and pounced on it, but it slipped out from under his paws and morphed into darkness. Not a second after it had gone, he caught sight of another one. "Follow them," he told her. Snowflake swallowed. "You really think we should? What if it leads us to some terrible fate?" "If you won't go, I still am." "All RIGHT, I'm GOING," Snowflake protested. She caught up with another pealy mist. They continued through the icy forest. All of a sudden, the last mist faded. They waited for another one but it never came. "Why did it stop?" Snowflake whispered. "Where are we?" Stonefoot blinked in reply. "It doesn't make any sense," he hissed back. As soon as the words were out, a fork spitting electricity split the sky in two. Chapter III Stonefoot watched, blinded, as the tree began to fall. "FIRE!" he called out. He knew it. The areas were too dry, the snow too cold. It melted away before his eyes. "Why would they lead us here?" Snowflake watched, horrified. A chime filled the woods. Once again, the white cloud stood in front of them. "Enough, you STUPID THING!" Stonefoot's anger was blinding. He jumped on the white thing as it faded, and reappeared up ahead. "Follow it!" Snowflake insisted. "Let's go!" Stonefoot ran to it and pounced on it ferociously, feeling the hard ground beneath his paws. The mist teased him with its whispery little song, daring him to catch it. Then Stonefoot saw it go across the border. He followed it anyway; out into territory no Clan had claimed. Then he saw it. It was a silver vein, cutting through this worthless piece of land. The mists glowed and went out. Stonefoot followed the path of the silvery river all the way to the falls. It was closer than he had thought, much closer to their territory. A huge rapid Category:Stormy's Fanfics Category:Fanfiction